


Hunting Lesson

by ThayerKerbasy



Series: A Man and His Dog [9]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Canon Compliant, Cats, Gen, Hellhounds, Local landmarks, POV Crowley's Hellhound Juliet, Season/Series 11
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-16 21:03:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28837500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThayerKerbasy/pseuds/ThayerKerbasy
Summary: When Juliet sets out to teach her kitten how to hunt, they run into a bigger challenge than they expected.
Series: A Man and His Dog [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/576391
Comments: 10
Kudos: 12
Collections: SPNColdestHits





	Hunting Lesson

**Author's Note:**

> If you're reading this without reading any of the previous fics, basically all you need to know is that Juliet acquired a pet kitten while Crowley was on the run from Lucifer in season 11, and at this point in the story, he's still away. That said, I highly recommend reading the fic previous to this one in the series.

Juliet still wasn’t happy with Small Friend’s training, but she had a soul to hunt and she wasn’t going to leave her little cat behind. Sure, Connall would probably have agreed to help, but he was a busy demon and there was no guarantee Small Friend wouldn’t get hurt when he wasn’t looking. Besides, maybe watching Juliet hunt would help the cat learn.

The sun was setting over the park where Juliet had tracked her prey, which meant she had a bit of time to wait before her preferred hunting time. It was more fun to hunt in the dark when her prey was more scared and vulnerable. Fortunately, that gave her a chance to give Small Friend a brief hunting lesson.

While Small Friend was a lot like ‘hound pups in some ways, in this it was very different. Juliet could easily get a pup’s attention, show them what to do, and be reasonably confident it would try to emulate her. Small Friend was only attentive when they felt like it.

Juliet barked to get Small Friend’s attention (which nobody in the World Above ever paid attention to, assuming they were hearing one of their dogs) and tried again to demonstrate proper clawing technique on the grass. Small Friend watched, then sniffed the air and set off wandering a bit. Training a cat was frustrating.

Juliet was about to go bring them back for another demonstration when Small Friend froze in place and somehow puffed up to nearly twice their normal size! Her little cat friend was less-little and puffy and making a weird low-pitched noise that sounded nothing like their usual sounds. It was one of the weirdest things Juliet had ever seen until she looked up.

Standing on three legs, and reaching as tall as a tree, the great black beast held its wings outstretched, menacing. Wide horns curved up above its narrow head. It didn’t look like its wings would support it in flight, but it was tall enough to easily chase down its prey, and the wings could be useful in a fight or maybe to gain speed. Worst of all, the only smells she could make out were the usual steel smells of a city. Her nose gave her no hints as to its nature.

Without hesitating, Juliet placed herself between the creature and Small Friend. She might not be able to defeat such a creature, but she could help her friend escape.

Small Friend responded by making a hissing noise and moving to stand between Juliet’s forelegs. There was literally nothing they could hope to do, but it forced Juliet to confront the creature rather than avoiding it.

She considered the best way to pick up Small Friend to leave her jaws free for attacking. Scooping them up with her snout meant taking her attention off the creature for a critical moment, but laying down so Small Friend could climb onto her back would take far too long. There were no good choices.

The wind blew, carrying with it smells from the water nearby. It wasn’t time for snow yet, but most animals in the area had already left or gone into hiding, so the smells were mainly from the plants in the water and the few birds that remained. Juliet took note of them without giving them much thought, filling in her mental landscape with the new smells.

Still and silent up to that point, the creature’s wing feathers moved in the breeze, swaying like a row of bats dangling from a branch. No other part of it moved, only its wing feathers.

That, more than anything else, made Juliet think things were not as they seemed. Reassuring herself that Small Friend would be safer on the ground, Juliet gathered herself and sprang into the long shadow at the creature’s feet, emerging from the thin lines of shadow cast by its head atop its wing.

Were she a normal earthly creature, she would have fallen to the ground, but of course, a normal earthly creature could never have scaled the thing to begin with. Perched precariously high in the air on the edge of its wing, the creature still didn’t move. Juliet began to question Small Friend’s instincts.

She had intended to maybe bite the creature in a vulnerable area from where she stood, but that was looking like a very bad idea. Her feet told her that it would be very difficult to bite the creature. A cautious experimental bite confirmed what her feet already knew. The creature was made of metal.

It also didn’t react whatsoever to her teeth. Juliet was more sure than before, but just to be certain, she batted at one of the beast’s feathers. It swayed ponderously, but the “creature” showed no other reaction. The thing they’d been so wary of wasn’t even alive.

Looking down at Small Friend still bristling, Juliet let out an amused whuff. They were so sure they could frighten off what they thought was a creature as tall as a tree. Her little cat friend was so very brave, but had no idea what they were actually capable of. That gave Juliet an idea.

Feeling much safer, Juliet traveled back down the way she came. Positioning herself beside Small Friend, she gave her “pay attention, I’m going to teach you something” bark. Small Friend didn’t exactly give their undivided attention, but they did glance back and forth from Juliet to the “creature” and back again. It would have to do.

Moving slowly, Juliet demonstrated how to back away from a hostile foe while still growling and demonstrating dominance. She moved backwards one snarling step at a time until she could place a wooden bench between herself and her “enemy”.

When Juliet was behind the bench, Small Friend hissed at their foe with renewed intensity. Juliet worried they had ignored yet another lesson. Maybe cats just weren’t meant for hunting.

Without warning, Small Friend sprang at one of the thing’s “legs”. Batting quickly with one tiny paw, they then bounced backwards oddly on all four paws at once, bounce bounce bounce. Back to where they started, Small Friend turned mid-bounce and dashed to Juliet’s hiding place, reclaiming the spot between Juliet’s forepaws.

It wasn’t the way she did it, but Juliet had to admit, Small Friend’s tactic worked. She congratulated her cat for their successful retreat by licking the top of their head. Small Friend responded with the wonderful little rumbling sound Juliet loved so much.

A noise from across the park caught her attention. In all the excitement, she’d almost forgotten about her actual hunt. Her prey was moving. It wasn’t exactly dark yet, but it was close enough. Pausing only long enough for Small Friend to climb onto Juliet’s back, she bayed to announce her intent. Time for the real hunting lesson to begin.

**Author's Note:**

> [This month's theme for Coldest Hits](https://spncoldesthits.tumblr.com/post/636782678138601472/january-2021-prompt-road-trip-posting-dates) was to write a fic involving a roadside attraction close to where you live. The closest one to me is the [Spirit Catcher Sculpture](https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g154980-d4504641-Reviews-or30-Spirit_Catcher_Sculpture-Barrie_Ontario.html) in Barrie, Ontario. Of course, because my brain is terrible, I didn't have a single idea to write until about a week and a half ago, and my longtime readers know just how slow I write. Thankfully, this idea wanted to be written, so it didn't fight me as badly as my usual fics do. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed another episode of Juliet and Small Friend.


End file.
